Announcement FAQ: April 16 2020

Posted by Hytale Team
April 16th 2020

Hi everyone! This FAQ is intended to answer questions arising from our recent set of announcements. If you haven’t done so already, please read these letters to the community from Simon and Noxy for important information about our new relationship with Riot Games and what it means for Hytale!

It’s our goal to lay out the facts of this new relationship as clearly as possible. However, if you have a question that isn’t answered below, please keep an eye on our Twitter feed - we’ll be doing our best to answer additional questions in the coming days.

Once again - thank you! We hope you’re as excited as we are about this new chapter in our journey as game developers.

Acquisition FAQ

What is happening to Hypixel Studios?

Hypixel Studios is becoming a subsidiary of Riot Games. It will continue to operate as an independent studio, with Riot as its parent company.

Who will be in charge of Hypixel Studios after the acquisition?

The Hypixel Studios leadership team will remain in charge of the day to day management of the studio. Hypixel Studios will have a new board of directors, which will include people from both Hypixel Studios and Riot Games.

Will the same people be working on Hytale?

Yes. Hypixel Studios will remain the developers of Hytale.

Is anything changing about the structure of the Hytale development team?

We’re bringing on new developers and making some changes to the structure of our internal teams as we ramp up development on Hytale. These aren’t radical changes to the way we operate, and are changes that we’d likely have made anyway.

Are Hytale developers becoming Riot employees?

No. Hytale developers will continue to be employees or contractors working for Hypixel Studios.

Will Riot developers be working on Hytale?

Hypixel Studios developers are separate from Riot Games devs and will be functioning independently from one another. However, at times, Hypixel employees will have opportunities to benefit from training and mentorship from Riot Games developers.

What does this mean for Hypixel Inc and the Hypixel Minecraft minigames server?

Hypixel Inc. is a separate entity and is not being acquired in this transaction. The team at Hypixel, Inc. including Simon, will continue to serve players on their server. As such, there will be no significant change either to that company or to the Hypixel minigames server. Simon and Rezzus will remain advisors to the Hypixel Studios team as well as advocating for Hytale, Hypixel Studios and the wider Hypixel community.

Will this acquisition delay Hytale?

We’re still aiming for Hytale to be playable by everyone in 2021, and we’ll continue to keep the community updated on our progress via the official blog.

Is the scope of Hytale changing?

The incredible scale of the response to the Hytale announcement has allowed us to be more ambitious with the game in order to meet high player expectations. However, we’re mindful of ‘scope creep’ - our priority is shipping Hytale!

Will this change Hytale’s technology, tools or engine?

Not fundamentally. We’ll continue to develop the Hytale game engine and toolset according to our needs as developers as well as the needs of future Hytale content creators.

Does this mean that Hytale will be a free to play game, like other Riot games?

We’re still finalizing the Hytale business model. We are not required to favor one approach over another: we’ll go with whatever business model we feel is best for the community.

Will I need to have a Riot Games account to play Hytale?

We’re still evaluating the best way to structure accounts for Hytale, and are looking at many options including the Riot Games account system. However, we are not bound to a particular approach and will choose the option that best meets the needs of players and creators. Whatever option we choose, it will be possible to set Hytale player names independently to the account system we use.

Is my beta application still valid?

Yes.

I’ve registered my interest in creating Hytale content. Will I receive access to the beta?

We’ll be launching a Hytale creator program in the run-up to launch aimed at supporting the needs of content creators, and we’ll continue to work directly with creators in our community, including YouTube rank holders on the Hypixel minigames server.

Will I still be able to reserve my username?

We will still provide a username reservation service ahead of the game’s release, though the implementation of this has proved to be more complicated than we anticipated. We understand how important getting the right username is for players, particularly content creators, so we fully intend to launch a system to account for this ahead of Hytale’s release.

Will I still be able to create, run and monetize my own Hytale content?

Yes. There will be a lightweight set of rules and guidelines regarding the creation of monetized in-game content, as well as some basic do’s and don'ts with regards to using our IP.

Does this mean that Hytale is set in the League of Legends universe?

No. Hytale is set in its own universe.

Will there be any crossovers between League of Legends and Hytale?

Our focus is on Hytale, but as opportunities arise to deliver cool experiences such as minigames, events and other tie-ins - which could include Riot Games properties as well as other universes - we will most certainly explore them!